"On my part, I remain committed to the process of dialogue. It is my firm belief that dialogue and a willingness to look with honesty and clarity at the reality of Tibet can lead us to a viable solution."

The exiles were picked up on Sunday from the northeastern Nepali
village of Jalbire, close to the Friendship Bridge which lies on
Nepal's border with China and is the only international gateway to
Tibet open to tourists.

"They were trying to march to Tibet and see the situation there for
themselves," said Tashi Dorjee, a refugee in Kathmandu.

The march on Sunday was the latest in a series of protests by exiled
Tibetans in Nepal since deadly anti-government riots broke out in
Tibetan capital Lhasa and other areas in China in mid-March, to mark
the anniversary of a 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Nepal, where more than 20,000 exiled Tibetans live, is the
second-biggest home for Tibetans outside Tibet after neighbouring India.

Police officer Suraj Khatri Chhetri said the refugees were being
driven to Kathmandu, where they would be handed over to immigration
authorities.

Nepali police broke up a similar march by Tibetans this month and
detained 42 exiles in the same area.

Last week, New York-based Human Rights Watch said that China was
putting pressure on Nepal to crack down on protests by the Tibetans,
a charge Beijing has denied.

Nepal considers Tibet part of its influential giant neighbour China.

In India, six members of the Tibetan Youth Congress began a hunger
strike on Monday in New Delhi to protest against the Olympic Games,
which will open next month in Beijing.

"The Chinese people deserve to host the Olympic Games, but what the
Tibetans and the Chinese people deserve more now is freedom," the
organisation said in a statement.